Because Thi Thu Ha is proud to be the pioneer in making Pepino melon a commodity product on Moc Chau plateau.

Because Thi Thu Ha is proud to be the pioneer in making Pepino melon a commodity product on Moc Chau plateau.

Because Thi Thu Ha is proud to be the pioneer in making Pepino melon a commodity product on Moc Chau plateau.

Lost in Thuan Thien organic farm

We left Hanoi while it was still foggy, excited to explore Moc Chau - the land of endless green grasslands and fresh climate.

Nature seems to want to challenge travelers. At 8am, when the car slowly entered Da Trang Pass (Thung Khe Pass) on Highway 6, connecting Tan Lac and Mai Chau districts of Hoa Binh province, about 120km from the center of Hanoi, on one side were steep mountains, on the other side were deep abysses, dense fog severely limited visibility.

A corner of Ha's Pepino melon garden seen from above. Photo: Quang Dung .

However, as soon as the car entered Moc Chau town, a farm town appeared like a charming natural picture, making us amazed. Our destination was Thuan Thien organic farm (Moc Chau town, Son La) - where Vi Thi Thu Ha is sowing green seeds for sustainable agriculture every day.

Having been involved in agriculture for over ten years, realizing the inadequacies of traditional farming methods, Ha boldly switched to organic farming. However, the path was not easy, from finding crops suitable for Moc Chau's climate and soil, to consecutive failed experiments, Ha experienced many difficulties.

Currently, Thuan Thien organic farm has 3 hectares of organic certification according to national standard TCVN 11041-2:2017, effective from September 6, 2023 to September 5, 2025. In particular, the most prominent highlight is Pepino melon (South American watermelon), a small fruit tree about 200-300g/fruit, delicious flavor, slightly sweet.

Ha brought Pepino melon to Moc Chau in 2017, starting with a trial on 200m2. With outstanding advantages such as delicious flavor and good adaptability to highland climate conditions, Ha decided to expand the area. In 2023, Ha planted 1,500m2 of Pepino melon and plans to expand to 1.5ha in 2025.

AEONMall system orders exclusive production

Ha shared: “Currently, the farm’s products have fixed customers, such as AEON Mall, who place exclusive production orders. Due to insufficient supply, in 2024, I expanded the area to 1 hectare and plan to continue expanding to 1.5 hectares in 2025.”

Vi Thi Thu Ha believes that farming is not just a job, but a journey full of experiences. Every day brings new and surprising things. Photo: Quang Dung.

Pepino melon is a plant that is quite picky about ecological conditions. The plant needs a temperature of 25-28 degrees Celsius and an altitude of over 1,000m above sea level to grow well. Thanks to the ideal conditions in Moc Chau, melon plants grow year-round, regardless of the season, bringing stable productivity. On average, a tree can produce 5kg of fruit in a 2-year life cycle. Currently, the selling price at the garden fluctuates between 70,000-80,000 VND/kg, while the price at supermarkets or e-commerce platforms can be up to 140,000 VND/kg, bringing high economic value.

However, the journey with Pepino melons is not always smooth. Ha once felt heartbroken when she had to witness the whole garden of ripe, plump, and laboriously nurtured melons being bitten by squirrels and rats. "Does anyone understand that feeling? When agricultural products are not just fruits, but also dreams and life" - Ha shared with tears.

But no matter how difficult it is, she will not give up. She wipes her tears and looks back at the garden. "Even though I am sad or regretful today, I still believe that good things are waiting ahead. Because I am a farmer - someone who not only plants trees, but also sows hope!", Ha firmly said.

Although organic agricultural products bring many benefits to human health and the environment, market development still faces many challenges. One of the biggest barriers is that the cost of products is higher than that of conventional agricultural products, due to the labor-intensive cultivation process and the yield cannot be compared with the traditional farming model.

The pioneer who turned Pepino melon into a commodity product

Ha confided: “Many people still do not really understand organic agricultural products. They think that vegetables that are not sprayed with pesticides are organic, but in fact, to achieve organic certification, growers must comply with a series of strict standards for many years. Therefore, raising consumer awareness is a key factor for organic products to have a solid foothold in the market.”

However, Ha still believes that the opportunities for organic agricultural products are huge. As people's incomes increase, they are more concerned about food quality and are willing to pay more for safe products. In addition, with support from sustainable agricultural development policies, Ha hopes to access more sources of support to expand production scale.

In addition to organic farming, Ha also takes advantage of social networks to promote products, regularly sharing the process of planting, caring for crops and harvesting agricultural products on Facebook and TikTok, attracting the attention of many consumers. Thanks to that, Ha's organic products not only reach customers directly but also expand the market through online sales channels, contributing to increasing the value of local agricultural products.

Ha's Pepino melon garden is in the season of fruiting, plump and sweet. Photo: Duy Hoc .

Ha confided: “For me, farming is not just a job, but a journey full of experiences. Some days, happiness is simply seeing customers enjoy the clean organic products that I have worked hard to cultivate. And some days, I find peace standing in the middle of the garden, letting the wind blow through the leaves, breathing deeply and feeling the scent of the earth and sky.”

More than just a farmer, she carries a big dream - a dream of organic, green, clean and sustainable agriculture - where farmers can make a good living from what they grow. And on the Moc Chau plateau, that dream is still being nurtured and bearing fruit every day.

In the future, can organic farms like Ha’s be expanded, becoming an important part of Vietnam’s clean, green agriculture? The road ahead is still full of challenges, but from the Moc Chau plateau, Ha’s Pepino melon dream is still moving forward, spreading hope every day.

Because Thi Thu Ha modestly said: “I am not sure that I am the first person to bring Pepino melon to Moc Chau, but I believe that I am the first person to develop it into a commercial product. I also do not think that it is boldness, but simply the belief in a product that is good for health and suitable for the ecological conditions of Moc Chau”.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/giac-mo-dua-pepino-ngot-lanh-tren-cao-nguyen-moc-chau-d742252.html